IIB 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5891 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 14, 2018 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, 

Labor, and Pensions 

AN ACT 

To establish an interagency task force to improve the Federal 

response to families impacted by substance abuse disorders. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Improving the Federal 

3 Response to Families Impacted by Substance Use Dis4 order Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE TO IMPROVE THE FED6 ERAL RESPONSE TO FAMILIES IMPACTED BY 

7 SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS. 

8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a task 

9 force, to be known as the ‘‘Interagency Task Force to Im10 prove the Federal Response to Families Impacted by Sub11 stance Use Disorders’’ (in this section referred to as 

12 ‘‘Task Force’’). 

13 (b) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Task Force— 

14 (1) shall identify, evaluate, and recommend 

15 ways in which Federal agencies can better coordi16 nate responses to substance use disorders and the 

17 opioid crisis; and 

18 (2) shall carry out the additional duties de19 scribed in subsection (d). 

20 (c) MEMBERSHIP.— 

21 (1) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The Task 

22 Force shall be composed of 12 Federal officials hav23 ing responsibility for, or administering programs re24 lated to, the duties of the Task Force. The Secretary 

25 of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of 

26 Education, the Secretary of Agriculture, and the 


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1 Secretary of Labor shall each appoint two members 

2 to the Task Force from among the Federal officials 

3 employed by the Department of which they are the 

4 head. Additional Federal agency officials appointed 

5 by the Secretary of Health and Human Services 

6 shall fill the remaining positions of the Task Force. 

7 (2) CHAIRPERSON.—The Secretary of Health 

8 and Human Services shall designate a Federal offi9 cial employed by the Department of Health and 

10 Human Services to serve as the chairperson of the 

11 Task Force. 

12 (3) DEADLINE FOR APPOINTMENT.—Each 

13 member shall be appointed to the Task Force not 

14 later than 60 days after the date of the enactment 

15 of this Act. 

16 (4) ADDITIONAL AGENCY INPUT.—The Task 

17 Force may seek input from other Federal agencies 

18 and offices with experience, expertise, or information 

19 relevant in responding to the opioid crisis. 

20 (5) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Task Force 

21 shall be filled in the manner in which the original 

22 appointment was made. 

23 (6) PROHIBITION OF COMPENSATION.—Mem24 bers of the Task Force may not receive pay, allowVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:29 Jun 15, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5891.RFS H5891

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1 ances, or benefits by reason of their service on the 

2 Task Force. 

3 (d) DUTIES.—The Task Force shall carry out the fol4 lowing duties: 

5 (1) Solicit input from stakeholders, including 

6 frontline service providers, medical professionals, 

7 educators, mental health professionals, researchers, 

8 experts in infant, child, and youth trauma, child wel9 fare professionals, and the public, in order to inform 

10 the activities of the Task Force. 

11 (2) Develop a strategy on how the Task Force 

12 and participating Federal agencies will collaborate, 

13 prioritize, and implement a coordinated Federal ap14 proach with regard to responding to substance use 

15 disorders, including opioid misuse, that shall in16 clude— 

17 (A) identifying options for the coordination 

18 of existing grants that support infants, chil19 dren, and youth, and their families as appro20 priate, who have experienced, or are at risk of 

21 experiencing, exposure to substance abuse dis22 orders, including opioid misuse; and 

23 (B) other ways to improve coordination, 

24 planning, and communication within and across 

25 Federal agencies, offices, and programs, to betVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:29 Jun 15, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5891.RFS H5891

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1 ter serve children and families impacted by sub2 stance use disorders, including opioid misuse. 

3 (3) Based off the strategy developed under 

4 paragraph (2), evaluate and recommend opportuni5 ties for local- and State-level partnerships, profes6 sional development, or best practices that— 

7 (A) are designed to quickly identify and 

8 refer children and families, as appropriate, who 

9 have experienced or are at risk of experiencing 

10 exposure to substance abuse; 

11 (B) utilize and develop partnerships with 

12 early childhood education programs, local social 

13 services organizations, and health care services 

14 aimed at preventing or mitigating the effects of 

15 exposure to substance use disorders, including 

16 opioid misuse; 

17 (C) offer community-based prevention ac18 tivities, including educating families and chil19 dren on the effects of exposure to substance use 

20 disorders, including opioid misuse, and how to 

21 build resilience and coping skills to mitigate 

22 those effects; 

23 (D) in accordance with Federal privacy 

24 protections, utilize non-personally identifiable 

25 data from screenings, referrals, or the provision 


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1 of services and supports to evaluate and im2 prove processes addressing exposure to sub3 stance use disorders, including opioid misuse; 

4 and 

5 (E) are designed to prevent separation and 

6 support reunification of families if in the best 

7 interest of the child. 

8 (4) In fulfilling the requirements of paragraphs 

9 (2) and (3), consider evidence-based, evidence-in10 formed, and promising best practices related to iden11 tifying, referring, and supporting children and fami12 lies at risk of experiencing exposure to substance 

13 abuse or experiencing substance use disorder, includ14 ing opioid misuse, including— 

15 (A) prevention strategies for those at risk 

16 of experiencing or being exposed to substance 

17 abuse, including misuse of opioids; 

18 (B) whole-family and multi-generational 

19 approaches; 

20 (C) community-based initiatives; 

21 (D) referral to, and implementation of, 

22 trauma-informed practices and supports; and 

23 (E) multi-generational practices that assist 

24 parents, foster parents, and kinship and other 

25 caregivers. 


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1 (e) FACA.—The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 

2 U.S.C. App. 2) shall not apply to the Task Force. 

3 (f) ACTION PLAN; REPORTS.—The Task Force— 

4 (1) shall prepare a detailed action plan to be 

5 implemented by participating Federal agencies to 

6 create a collaborative, coordinated response to the 

7 opioid crisis, which shall include— 

8 (A) relevant information identified and col9 lected under subsection (d); 

10 (B) a proposed timeline for implementing 

11 recommendations and efforts identified under 

12 subsection (d); and 

13 (C) a description of how other Federal 

14 agencies and offices with experience, expertise, 

15 or information relevant in responding to the 

16 opioid crisis that have provided input under 

17 subsection (c)(4) will be participating in the co18 ordinated approach; 

19 (2) shall submit to the Congress a report de20 scribing the action plan prepared under paragraph 

21 (1), including, where applicable, identification of any 

22 recommendations included in such plan that require 

23 additional legislative authority to implement; and 

24 (3) shall submit a report to the Governors de25 scribing the opportunities for local- and State-level 


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1 partnerships, professional development, or best prac2 tices recommended under subsection (d)(3). 

3 (g) DISSEMINATION.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The action plan and reports 

5 required under subsection (f) shall be— 

6 (A) disseminated widely, including among 

7 the participating Federal agencies and the Gov8 ernors; and 

9 (B) be made publicly available online in an 

10 accessible format. 

11 (2) DEADLINE.—The action plan and reports 

12 required under subsection (f) may be released on 

13 separate dates but shall be released not later than 

14 9 months after the date of the enactment of this 

15 Act. 

16 (h) TERMINATION.—The Task Force shall terminate 

17 30 days after the dissemination of the action plan and re18 ports under subsection (g). 

19 (i) FUNDING.—The administrative expenses of the 

20 Task Force shall be paid out of existing Department of 

21 Health and Human Services funds or appropriations. 

22 (j) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 

23 (1) The term ‘‘Governor’’ means the chief exec24 utive officer of a State. 


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1 (2) The term ‘‘participating Federal agencies’’ 

2 means all the Executive agencies (as defined in sec3 tion 105 of title 5, United States Code) whose offi4 cials have been appointed to the Task Force. 

5 (3) The term ‘‘State’’ means each of the several 

6 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth 

7 of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American 

8 Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern 

9 Mariana Islands. 

Passed the House of Representatives June 13, 2018. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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